Milton Countywas acountyof theU.S. stateofGeorgiafrom 1857to 1931.It was created on December 18, 1857, from parts of northeasternCobb,southeasternCherokee,and southwesternForsythcounties. The county was named forJohn Milton,Secretary of State of Georgia from 1777 to 1799.[1]Alpharettawas thecounty seatuntil the end of 1931, when Milton was merged withFulton Countyto save it from bankruptcy during theGreat Depression.[2]At that time,Campbell County,which had already gone bankrupt, was also ceded to Fulton, giving it its 70-mile (110 km) long irregular shape along theChattahoochee River.
Milton County | |
|---|---|
Former county | |
 Location of the county withinGeorgia,United States in 1857–1931. | |
| Country |  United States |
| State |  Georgia |
| Established | 1857 |
| Merged | 1932 |
| Seat | Alpharetta |
| Population (1900) | |
• Total | 6,763 |
Following the 1932 merger, the Cobb County town ofRoswellwas also ceded toFultonfour months later on May 9, 1932. The cession of Roswell (including everything east ofWilleo Creek) made the new county more contiguous, though a very narrow strip (what is now theDunwoody Panhandleof Sandy Springs, ceded to Milton fromDeKalb) actually already connected the two sections.
In 1900, there were several otherpost officesbesides Alpharetta: Arnold, Coker, Dinsmore, Field's Cross Roads, Freemansville, McClure, Mazeppa, Ocee, Skelton, Stono, and Warsaw. Milton totaled 147 square miles (380 km2) or 94,080 acres. There was a population of 6,763, which was 555 more than at the previous (1890) census. Alpharetta had 310 residents; 1,529 lived in and around it.MethodistsandBaptistswere the dominant religiousdenominations.[3]
| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1860 | 4,602 | — | |
| 1870 | 4,284 | −6.9% | |
| 1880 | 6,261 | 46.1% | |
| 1890 | 6,208 | −0.8% | |
| 1900 | 6,763 | 8.9% | |
| 1910 | 7,239 | 7.0% | |
| 1920 | 6,885 | −4.9% | |
| 1930 | 6,730 | −2.3% | |
| U.S. Decennial Census | |||
Re-creation proposals
editThis section needs to beupdated.(July 2020) |
- SeeSecession section of Fulton County, Georgiafor more in depth information
Fulton County has 10 percent of the state's population, being larger than eightU.S. statesand theDistrict of Columbia.The Fulton County school district is the only non-contiguousschool districtin the state, having a 17-mile (27 km) separation (Atlanta Public Schools) between the north and south.
In recent years, some residents of north Fulton County have sought to re-create Milton County. The proposed plan would include some of Georgia's largest cities in a new Milton County, such asRoswell(7th),Sandy Springs(8th),Johns Creek(12th),Alpharetta(13th),Milton(54th), as well asMountain Park.[4]
A February 2009 study completed in collaboration between the University of Georgia'sCarl Vinson Institute of Governmentand Georgia State University's Andrew Young School of Policy Studies gave a positive analysis of the financial viability of the proposed Milton County.[5]
Abillbefore theGeorgia General Assemblyin 2005 that proposed the inclusion of Sandy Springs would rename the remainder of Fulton County as "Atlanta County". Thestate's constitution,however, now prohibits any more than 159 counties, the number it has had since the merger in 1932. Any change would require aconstitutional amendment,supported bytwo-thirdsof each house in the General Assembly and by over half of all voters statewide in areferendum.
On January 9, 2007, state RepresentativeJan Jones,who represents the housedistrictthat includes Roswell, and representatives of adjacent districts introduced HR 12. Without mentioning Milton County by name, HR 12 proposed to amend the state constitution to allow the legislature to re-create previous counties regardless of the 159-county limit, if such an action is ratified by voters in the areas of the proposed re-created county. The amendment would disallow voters in the remaining parts of Fulton County from voting on the issue.[6]Jones stated in November 2008 that she would reintroduce the bill in 2009, after theUniversity of Georgia's study of the issue was completed.
A resolution to amend the Georgia Constitution to ease the political path for resurrection of the county was reintroduced by the area's legislators in the2009 sessionas HR 21 and SR 392.[7]As of 2009 February 18, HR 21 was reported favorably out of committee in a 7–1 vote.[8]Reps. Jan Jones and Mark Burkhalter spoke in favor as well as Fulton County Commissioner Lynne Riley. Lobbyists for Fulton County and City of Atlanta, and Atlanta Dept of Watershed Management[9]Commissioner Robert Hunter spoke against.
As of 2010[update],Jan Jones (who lives in the new city ofMilton,named for the former county) was thespeakerpro temporeof the Georgia House, and was expected to make a strong push for the new county.[10]Theconstitutional amendmentwould require two-thirds of each house and half of all voters in a statewide referendum to approve the re-creation of former counties (Milton andCampbell). As of October 2021 no proposals have been advanced.[11]
Geography
editMilton County originally borderedGwinnettto the southeast,Forsythto the northeast,Cherokeeto the northwest,Cobbto the southwest, andDeKalb(ChambleeandDunwoody) to the south. Because the Roswell area was formerly located in Cobb County, there was no border between Fulton and Milton counties before 1932. The northern edge of DeKalb also now no longer touches the river, as it did then. This section, north of Dunwoody Club Drive, is now thepanhandleof Sandy Springs.
| Year | Republican | Democratic | Third party(ies) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | |
| 1928 | 444 | 70.81% | 183 | 29.19% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1924 | 53 | 16.16% | 224 | 68.29% | 51 | 15.55% |
| 1920 | 231 | 45.38% | 278 | 54.62% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1916 | 18 | 3.18% | 387 | 68.37% | 161 | 28.45% |
| 1912 | 17 | 3.83% | 320 | 72.07% | 107 | 24.10% |
| 1908 | 120 | 33.90% | 182 | 51.41% | 52 | 14.69% |
| 1904 | 25 | 5.59% | 263 | 58.84% | 159 | 35.57% |
| 1900 | 116 | 23.82% | 308 | 63.24% | 63 | 12.94% |
| 1896 | 227 | 33.14% | 428 | 62.48% | 30 | 4.38% |
| 1892 | 73 | 7.82% | 619 | 66.35% | 241 | 25.83% |
| 1888 | 56 | 5.85% | 895 | 93.42% | 7 | 0.73% |
| 1884 | 57 | 10.29% | 497 | 89.71% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1880 | 46 | 9.09% | 460 | 90.91% | 0 | 0.00% |
References
edit- ^Dillman, Caroline Matheny (2003)."Milton County".New Georgia Encyclopedia.RetrievedSeptember 10,2011.
- ^"History".City of Alpharetta, Georgia. Archived fromthe originalon December 6, 2006.
- ^"Georgia, historical and industrial - Obediah B. Stevens, Robert F. Wright, Georgia. Dept. of Agriculture - Google Books".June 2, 2007.RetrievedOctober 5,2011.
- ^"Georgia Cities".Georgia Municipal Association.
- ^"Milton County Study".University of Georgia's Carl Vinson Institute of Government. Archived fromthe originalon March 25, 2010.
- ^"House Resolution 12".Georgia General Assembly. Archived fromthe originalon January 13, 2007.
- ^"HR 21 - Counties; provide for re-creation; voter approval - CA".Archived fromthe originalon March 23, 2009.
- ^Doug Nurse (February 18, 2009)."Plan to resurrect Milton County passes House panel".ajc.RetrievedFebruary 19,2009.
- ^"Traffic Advisories".
- ^"Atlanta secession bid raises race issues".NBC News. January 7, 2010.RetrievedOctober 5,2011.
- ^"City of Alpharetta 2035 Comprehensive Plan"(PDF).January 1, 2017.RetrievedOctober 10,2021.
- ^Leip, David."Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections".uselectionatlas.org.RetrievedApril 11,2018.
External links
edit- North Fulton Commissioner on recreating Milton County
- Access Milton
- New Milton County
- Old Milton Countyhistorical marker